IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS?

The report examines how 38 African countries are measuring and reporting on SDG 16. It finds high political commitment but significant gaps in financial resources and data quality. It highlights innovations in 'data sovereignty' through national statistical offices (NSOs) and the use of multi-stakeholder partnerships to overcome data gaps.

• Political commitment to SDG 16 is generally high among African leaders, who view it as a foundational enabler for all other SDGs, yet this support often fails to translate into financial resources. Approximately 66% of survey respondents identified the 'lack of adequate dedicated financial resources for SDG 16' as a very problematic issue.
• African countries are increasingly pursuing 'data sovereignty' by developing national governance statistics to avoid reliance on external international indicators that may not fit local contexts. However, only 16% of government respondents reported that national funding has been specifically allocated for the production of SDG 16 data.
• Efforts to localize global SDG 16 targets are growing, with 60% of respondents stating their country has adapted targets to fit the national context. However, these processes are often limited; 31% of those who localized added only 1–3 national indicators, and only 58% reported that the general public was invited to contribute.
• There is a significant gap in the ability to report on global indicators using national data; 53% of respondents stated their country cannot report on more than half of the 23 global SDG 16 indicators. Consequently, 27% of respondents use unofficial or non-state data when official sources are unavailable.
• The GPS-SHaSA initiative, launched in 2011, demonstrates that African NSOs can successfully produce official survey-based governance statistics. A regular nationally representative survey could allow countries to report on 11 of the 23 global SDG 16 indicators simultaneously.
• While civil society is often included in formal SDG committees, this does not always result in meaningful influence. Non-government respondents are significantly less likely than government respondents to view multi-stakeholder engagement as 'very useful and productive' (27% vs 42%).
• Some countries are integrating SDG 16 into national budgeting and planning to ensure accountability. Ghana has fully integrated the SDG framework into its budget, and Kenya uses 'performance contracting' where public sector executives are scored on their delivery of SDG 16 targets.
• Public accessibility of SDG 16 data is low, with only 25% of respondents stating that data is easily accessible to the public. Furthermore, 49% of non-government respondents feel their government is not committed to using this data for policymaking or accountability.
• African countries' participation in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the HLPF has increased significantly, with 18 countries reporting in 2019, representing over a third of all reports. However, there is a tendency to treat the VNR as the 'endgame' rather than a tool for national course correction.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? |date=2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019africa, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }